*a thrilling, dystopian novel in where Germany and the Nazis won WWII
*Wallis Simpson is the Queen Consort of English and Edward VIII is King
*this novel picks up two years after King Edward VIII's death (see Widowland, the first book)
*great character development and well written
*highly recommend ( )

First sentence: If pelicans cared about views, then the pelicans of St. James's Park would appreciate that the view from their home on the lake was the most historic in England.

Premise/plot: Queen Wallis is the sequel to Widowland. But is it the thrilling sequel to Widowland? (See my thoughts below). Both books imagine an intriguing what-if. What if Britain had formed an alliance with Nazi Germany instead of fighting in World War II. What would Britain have looked like in the 1950s. Obviously, one can tell from the title, that there would be a Queen Wallis--instead of Queen Elizabeth.

Rose Ransom, our protagonist, spends her days rewriting literature and 'sanitizing' it for the present day. She removes anything offensive to the powers that be. No exceptions. Play it safe on what is "offensive." But Rose has a big secret--a secret that apparently she has forgotten completely. A secret that readers of the first novel may be aware of. But does someone know her secret? Is she a target?

MY thoughts: I do not think this is a thrilling sequel. The first novel was definitely premise-driven. It had plenty of action on top of an intriguing premise. So much of this one is Rose being clueless. There doesn't seem to be much of a plot. Definitely a LOT more dialogue this time around. (Or perhaps I'm misremembering the first book?) But it was hard to care about any of the characters. Not even Rose since Rose seems to sometimes forget who she is and what she stands for. ( )

The Publisher Says: The thrilling sequel to Widowland, a feminist dystopian novel set in an alternative history that terrifyingly imagines what a British alliance with Germany would look like if the Nazis had won WWII.

London, 1955. The Leader has been dead for two years. His assassination, on British soil, provoked violent retribution and intensified repression of British citizens, particularly women. Now, more than ever, the Protectorate is a place of surveillance and isolation―a land of spies.

Every evening Rose Ransom looks in the mirror and marvels that she's even alive. A mere woman, her role in the Leader's death has been miraculously overlooked. She still works at the Culture Ministry, where her work now focuses on poetry, which has been banned for its subversive meanings, emotions, and signals that cannot be controlled.

A government propaganda drive to promote positive images of women has just been announced ahead of a visit from Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first American president to set foot on English soil in two decades. Queen Wallis Simpson will be spearheading the campaign, and Rose has been tasked with visiting her to explain the plan. When Rose arrives at the palace, she finds Wallis in a state of paranoia, desperate to return to America and enjoy the liberty of her homeland following her husband's death. Wallis claims she has a secret document so explosive that it will blow the Protectorate apart. But will the last queen of England pull the trigger on the Alliance?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: [Fahrenheit 451] meets [The Handmaid's Tale] and they then mind-meld with Orwell's [Nineteen Eighty-Four] in a world where Edward VIII with his Nazi sympathies never abdicated.
As a life-long devotee of alternative history, I've seen so damn many "Germans win WWII" ideas that I refelxively shy away from reading yet another one. This one, being the second in a series I didn't read the first one of, would usually get zero attention from me for both those reasons. The way this subverted my defenses was to offer me a golden moment: My abiding contempt for the Windsors leads me to be amused and more than a little pleased that things turn out badly for them in this story.

The idea that the American Queen Wallis, a rapacious, greedy person whose grudges were legendary, would want to give up her life atop the heap is so unlikely as to be risible; but this isn't rigorous allohistorical scenario design, it's tendentious warning-blaring. It's meant for the world with Erdoğan, Orban, Modi, and Putin trotting around unassassinated in it, to detail a few of the not-at-all unlikely societal effects thereof on decent human beings. Most especially women. Author Carey is excellent at the evocation of the personal costs of totalitarian rule based on religious "principles" and there's no doubt that the cult of eugenics, written into law, would function quite well as a "moral" force like religion.

It delights me that the job our PoV character, Rose, does is to bowdlerize literature and history books to conform with the prevailing power's ideological needs. The Power of Literature is immense and very, very scary to the Powers That Be. One thing I don't see discussed in pop culture is how extremely easy Rose's job would be now: Push a patch to all Kindles and Kobos, and the "subversive" text is in compliance with Their needs. Think that's far-fetched? Read some Cory Doctorow links.

The topics Author Carey deals with in this book are so very timely that I could feel them pulling me along as the pace slackened after about 35% of the way through (a converation between Rose and Queen Wallis). The last about 15% was fast-paced and exciting, but without my deep identification with the author's evident desire to bring home the existential threat women and Others face in today's increasingly fascistic world, I'd've taken longer to finish the read.

While I have cavils on the history front (why is Eisenhower president in a 1955 where WWII wasn't like ours? why is there no mention of presumably vanished millions of Jews?), I have none on the timeliness and urgency of the author's purpose in writing the book. I'll say that I felt slightly at sea occasionally. I put this down to not having read Widowland, so I recommend you do that first.

Rose is no superheroine. She's a very slightly moist, sometimes even drippy, everywoman whose moral compass isn't aligned with her culture's. She has the decency to follow it, and not the mob. She is, then, who we can reasonably aspire to be if the worst happens.

Well worth your time and treasure. ( )

Hitler was sure that England would be an easy conquest. He planned to install Edward back on the throne, with Wallis as his queen; after all, they were friendly towards Hitler and actively pressed England to come to friendly terms with Nazi Germany.

It didn’t work out that way; England stood its ground and King George basically exiled his brother to a governmental post in the Caribbean.

But…what if England had gone the way of France, and allied with Hitler?

C. J. Carey’s Widowland fascinated me with its imagined alternative history, and the sequel Queen Wallis continues the story.

Under the Anglo-Saxon Alliance, Britain is colonized by Germany under a totalitarian rule. Along with the end of freedom of speech and reeducating minds, a caste system has been imposed on women, based on eugenics ideals.

Rose is a Geli–the highest caste, based on her physical perfection and class. Although women are no longer educated, especially in the liberal arts, Rose grew up with literature and art. She is the perfect person to rewrite literature to meet government standards. Her job is to transform Jane Eyre into an obedient and meek woman and remove poetic messages that empower free thinking into state approved propaganda.

Rose has forgotten what happened two years previous when The Leader was assassinated. The Event has been erased from history and memories. She is fuzzy about her role in what had happened.

It is 1955 and President Eisenhower and his wife are coming to London to meet the widowed Queen Wallis and tour Hitler’s new rebuilding of London into Londinium, including the ghetto known as the Widowlands, a grim place where barren and unmarried women are forced to live. Rose is asked to prepare the Queen, only to learn that the outspoken Wallis longs to escape her life—and has evidence that could turn American policy against reestablishing a relationship with England.

This feminist dystopian thriller kept me turning pages. I was fascinated by the detailed world Carey creates, down to laws about approved women’s fashions and allotted calories. When I consider state laws that are being enacted in America, it is chilling to consider a world where women are regulated to ignorance, powerlessness, and endless childbirth.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. ( )

Set in June 1955, two years after the Leader was assassinated. There is a lot to get your head around in this dystopian, feminist, pseudo-historical novel. Since the Battle of Britain, Britain has been a German Protectorate. Women outnumber men 6 to 1, and a caste system has been established where each woman is assigned a caste which determines her status and employment.

For me this novel was a mixture of Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and 1984. Life is carefully regulated, and citizens, especially women, live under a repressive regime.

But things seem to be changing. President Eisenhower is coming for a state visit and there is talk of a new Pact with the United States.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but at the same time it was a challenging read. ( )